Rates are rising and wannabe homeowners are rushing to lock in rates which pushed total demand for mortgages up 2.3%, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association…(MBA)
- PURCHASES: The purchase index jumped 8% for the week but was still down 13% year-over-year.
- REFIS: The refinance index fell 3% and is now down 49% year-over-year.
All eyes were on this week’s mortgage rate and, just like last week, we saw a double-digit jump…
- 30-YR FIXED: The average contract interest rate jumped 12 basis points to 3.64% which is now up 72 basis points from a year ago.
- 15-YR FIXED: The average contract interest rate saw a huge jump with a 22 basis point increase to 2.95% which is now up 47 basis points from one year ago.
NOTE: This is now the highest rate since March 25th, 2020 when rates hit 3.82%.
Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting, said affordability concerns are rising with rates and also pointed out that it’s not just rates that are going to hurt affordability…
- “Despite the increase in rates, purchase applications jumped almost 8 percent, with conventional purchase applications accounting for much of the stronger activity. The average loan size for a purchase application set a record at $418,500. The continued rise in purchase loan application sizes is driven by high home-price appreciation and the lack of housing inventory on the market – especially for entry-level homes.”